Yang Ik-june (born October 19, 1975) is a South Korean

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

. He is best known for the 2009 film '' Breathless'', which he wrote, directed, edited, and starred in.

Career

Born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

in 1975, Yang graduated from the Department of Entertainment & Acting at the Kongju Communication Arts College. After discharge from his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

, Yang studied theatre and trained at the Actor's 21 Academy before delving into the film industry. In the next six years he starred in 30

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s, and won the Best Actor award at the

Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival The Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (MSFF) is a Korean short film festival, intended to support upcoming young filmmakers. Since its launch in 2002, it is held every June in Seoul, South Korea. Official Program Sections The Mise-en-scène ...

for the 2005 short film ''Ooh, You Make Me Sick''. In 2005 he directed his first short film, ''Always Behind You'', which earned him the Audience Award at the Seoul Independent Short Film Festival. He also played minor roles in more than ten mainstream films such as ''Les Formidables'', ''

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of th ...

'', and ''Viva! Love''. But it was '' Breathless'', his semi-autobiographical feature directorial debut in which he also played the lead role, that catapulted Yang into star director status. ''Breathless'' was selected for the Asian Cinema Fund which provided post-production support, and the low-budget film had its world premiere at the 2008

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festiv ...

. It proceeded to receive much critical acclaim, winning 23 prizes in the international film festival circuit including a Tiger Award at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

. Upon its theater release in Korea, the film performed better than expected at the box office with 130,000 admissions, a rare accomplishment for an

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

. Yang then starred in a supporting role in the 2010 comedy/ road movie ''Looking for My Wife'' (also known as ''Runaway from Home''). In 2011, he was a

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

for ''

The King of Pigs ''The King of Pigs'' () is a 2011 South Korean adult animated psychological drama thriller film directed by Yeon Sang-ho. It was Sang-ho's debut film, and was based on many of his former experiences in high school. The film was selected to be sc ...

'', an adult animated film on violence and

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an ...

. He also directed the short films ''Departure'' and ''Immature'' that same year. ''Immature'' was funded by the

Jeonju International Film Festival Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, Korean: 전주국제영화제, Hanja: 全州國際映畵祭) is an Asian film festival. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival with partial competition. It introduces independent ...

and released as part of the omnibus ''A Time to Love''. Another short film ''Shibata & Nagao'', a comedy inspired by actor's workshops and co-produced with Japan, won the Best Korean Short Film Award at the Asiana International Short Film Festival in 2012. Yang made his television acting debut in the melodrama '' The Innocent Man'', imbuing his supporting role as a small-time thug with an air of menace. In 2013 he was among four celebrities who directed a short film using

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

Samsung Galaxy S4 with the theme "Meet a Life Companion"; his short ''Dance Together'' focused on a Japanese woman who encounters someone new through a cell phone after experiencing the pain of a parting.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Yang Ik-june
at Prain TPC * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Ik-june 1975 births Living people South Korean film directors South Korean screenwriters South Korean film editors South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors 20th-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male actors Best Supporting Actor Asian Film Award winners